Mr. H. M. Dmmmond : List of Birds of the Island of Crete, 423 



thirty, sitting on the banks of the salt marshes all day long, sun- 

 ning and preening themselves. 



Carbo cormoranus (B.)* Common : sedentary. 



pygmceus. Found in Cephalonia, never in Corfu, but very nu- 

 merous at Butrinto during the winter. 



Summary. 



Species 

 Common to Ionian Islands and Britain. . . 157 



Doubtful if same as British species 3 



European, but not British 39 



Peculiar to Ionian Islands 1 



Total number of birds of Ionian Islands . . 200 

 It may appear remarkable that so large a proportion of these spe- 

 cies should inhabit such opposite extremities of Europe as Great 

 Britain and the Ionian Islands. Thefaun(B of these two regions are 

 however much more distinct than the above numbers would appear 

 to indicate, for many of the birds which abound in the Ionian Islands 

 are of very rare and accidental occurrence in Britain, such for in- 

 stance as Cathartespercnopterus, Falco rufipes, Coracias garrula, Orio- 

 lus galbula, Cypselus alpinus, Glareola torquata, Ardea purpurea, &c. 

 — H.E.S. 



LIl. — List of the Birds of the Island of Crete, from obsetTations 

 made during a stay of nearly two months, from 27th April to 

 IHth June, 1843. By H. M. Drummond, 42nd R.H. With 

 Notes by H. E. Strickland, M.A. 



[This list, which was also read to the British Association at Cork, 

 is necessarily less complete than Capt. Drummond's list of the 

 birds of the Ionian Islands, yet it is a remarkable instance of how 

 much may be done in the short space of two months by an active 

 and observant naturalist. This is the first contribution which 

 has been made since the days of old Belon to the ornithology of 

 Crete*, an island which, being the most remote extremity of Eu- 

 rope towards the south-east, may be expected to possess a pecu- 

 liarly interesting fauna. — H. E. S.] 



Vulturfulvus. probably breed on the island. 1. Very 



Cathartespercnopterus (B,)J ""^^^ous : 2. a few seen on the high- 

 Gypaetusbarbatus, \ est mountams: 3. common on the tops 



^^ l^ of the mountams. 



Falco subbuteo (B.). Seen in flocks as late as 12th June, in chase 

 of a large species of beetle, which they dextrously seize with their 

 claws and devour on the wing : it probably breeds : only seen in 

 the dusk of the evening, when several were shot. 



* This island, to which the Saracens first gave the name of Candia, has 

 been known to its inhabitants from the days of Minos to the present hour 

 by no other name than Crete, and I rejoice to see that this venerable appel- 

 lation is again coming into general use. — H. E. S. 



